Stories
by blessende
Summary: A day in the life of twenty two year old Eren Jaeger, PeaceCorp and Husband. Set in the Searching for Levi universe. [LevixEren]


Stories

_[Set in the Searching for Levi universe. Year 2012.]_

_~.~_

_Hey Corporal._

_Have you ever heard the story of 'Pyramus and Thisbe'?_

_Okay, okay, don't glare at me. _

_No, I can't see you but I am sure you're doing it. _

_Let me tell you the story then. Listen carefully. _

_What do you mean you don't want to hear a half-assed story about my stupid world? You gotta listen to this! It's important, Rivaille. There's a moral lesson here._

_So, do I have your attention now? _

_Yes?_

_Good. Okay, here goes._

_Well, Pyramus and Thisbe were these two lovers of Babylon, who were neighbours but couldn't meet each other because their families were having a feud. Yeah, you heard me right. A feud. You know... the whole Montague and Capulet our-families-hate-each-other-so-we-can't-meet deal. And back in those times, whatever you did, you never fraternized with the enemy. Wait. What do you mean you don't know any Montague and Capulet? Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet? Oh, come on, sir! THE ROMEO AND JULIET! Man, you haven't heard of that either? What kind of rock do you live under? Oh wait, don't answer that. It WAS a rhetorical question! Yes, I know you live on Titan. And no, I don't suffer from amnesia. Alright, never mind... we will keep that for another day. Anyway... so about this Pyramus guy and Thisbe chick... well, they were these two star crossed lovers of Babylon. Hm, what's Babylon? It's a place. And it's not important to the story. _

_I should get my facts right before telling a story? _

_Like I said, it's not relevant. NOT IMPORTANT. Stop interrupting me in the middle or we're going to be awake the whole night... day... uh, what time is it, over there?_

_Okay, okay, jeez, I will get on with the story. So, now that I have your undivided attention, sir... yeah, Pyramus and Thisbe. Star crossed lovers. Family feud and rest of the jazz. Now, the only way these two talked to each other was through a crack in the wall. Yes, you heard me right. A crack in the wall. That's how they talked to each other. Through a crack in the wall. It was their own little secret that no one knew about. So one day, they arranged to meet near a mulberry tree but... _

_But…_

_But something terrible happened. _

_They- _

_What's a... mulberry tree? _

_It's a tree. _

_What does the tree look like? How the hell am I supposed to know? It would look like a fucking tree. What more do you want to know?_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean I'm a lousy storyteller? _

_Man, I am never telling you a story again. _

_You take the fun out of everything, Levi._

_[Silence]_

_Corporal?_

_Levi...?_

_Are you listening?_

..-..

A long time ago on Earth, the Greeks believed in the rainbow goddess Iris to carry their messages through. Not far behind them, were the Romans who reared pigeons to send home news of victory from conquered battlefields. Farther west, many centuries later, the Red Indians learnt to speak to eagles and could read the star-studded sky for their fortunes. In a prospering civilization of the Middle East, the Egyptians discovered the papyrus and began to etch away their hieroglyphics on it.

Communication had evolved from a crack in the wall. Mankind evolved too, making one breakthrough after another.

Letters. Telephone. Email. Chat. Text messages. Video calling.

And here was Eren... with a talking watch.

The watch lay silent on the bed while the twenty two year old cleared the laundry from the floor, kicking the clothes into a corner. The brown haired young man sat down on the floor of his dorm room, his face scrunched up in concentration. He placed the circular pods on the mosaic tiles, lining them in a perfect square as he had been told. A square three by three feet. None too big, none too small. He also took good care with the adhesive strap at the back of each pod… just like he had been told. When the last of the pods had been placed in the square, he searched for the remote control in the back pocket of his jeans. Having found it, the brunette fished it out, took a careful step back and pressed the green button on the radial. His buzz of excitement faltered for a small moment.

Because nothing happened.

No smoke.

No explosion.

No blue eyed djinns.

Eren plodded back to the square and studied it, wondering if he had gone wrong somewhere.

As if in answer, his watch beeped from the bed and Eren lunged for the comm. He pressed the oblique button on the curvature of the dial face and received the incoming call. A call that was special… not because it came from space or a distant planet. But special, because it was from someone who he hadn't met in over five months. Subtly, Eren cast a look at the time. Precisely four pm, (just like he had been told).

There was the usual drawn out pause before a familiar voice spoke up. Languid, deep and knowing more than ever letting on.

_Not bad. You kept to the time._

And there was that ambiguity between words and sentences. The spaces that Eren had learned to fill all on his own.

The young man gave the watch a narrow glance.

'It's not like you gave me much choice, _sir_.'

A pause.

_There is always a choice, trooper._

Eren gave a small laugh as he walked over to the window to pull the blinds down. You could never be too careful. Especially when you were surrounded by nosy friends like Armin, Connie and Sasha.

'Not when the orders come from you, sir,' the boy said. 'To quote you, _Corporal,_ your exact words were '_Be in your room at sixteen hundred hours earth time. You better not keep me waiting_.' If there was a choice there, it completely missed me or I must have misread.'

There was a hum of amusement on the other end.

Eren brought down the blinds with a rough yank of the string. 'And you know, Levi, your rendezvous order almost sounded like an invitation to... _you know_.'

_To... what?_

'Hey, don't play innocent. You know what I mean.'

_No, trooper. I am not well versed with the slang of your planet. So, spell it out for me. Word to word._

Eren sighed and pressed a hand over his eyes. He hated how he dug his own grave at times. '...Never mind,' he finally said.

There was an awkward silence and Eren could hear the man bustling about on the other end. The sound of curtains being pulled, paper rustling and footsteps. What was the man upto? The younger man looked at his watch. It was four five already.

'Uh, Levi, it's five minutes past sixteen hundred hours,' he spoke out loud. 'So, are you gonna tell me what the pods do?'

_Hm, _drawled the voice._ They won't turn into tentacle sex machines... if that's what you're worried about._

Eren pulled a face.

'Man, you're never going to let that slide, are you? Come on, Corporal. What do the pods do?'

The silence stretched and Eren heard the sound of a switch being flicked.

_Turn around._

'What do you mean _turn around_? I have got a proper signal here.'

The voice was quieter now but there remained the unspoken authority in its tone. Soft but demanding.

_Jaeger, _the older insisted. _Turn around._

And how was Eren supposed to rebel against that dulcet tone? The peacekeeper pressed the bridge of his nose and resisted the urge to sigh. Half-fought battles led nowhere but he didn't feel like giving in that easily. 'Tell me what the pods do first-'

'_Eren_,' the older said.

It was strange how his own name could be Eren's undoing.

The boy turned around, ready to inspect the pods for the zillionth time. And the watch almost slipped from his fingers. Words failed him for a long moment. Because there, in the middle of his dorm room… in _his_ effing dorm room, stood a man. The same one he had been talking to just now. Levi stood, flanking a white shirt, dark blazer and black pants. Not without that brooding expression of course. The man with the undercut was looking straight at Eren. It wasn't a cardboard picture because the mouth moved and he could see the hint of a smile appearing on those thin lips.

_Quit gaping. You look like an idiot, _chortled the voice from his watch.

Eren staggered forward.

'It is you... isn't it? It's you, Levi. What? How-'

Eren reached forward with a ginger hand, aiming to touch a cheek. But his fingers never met the pale skin. The hand went right through and the image flickered like the disturbed waters of a lake.

In the end, that's all it was.

An image.

A hologram.

They both waited for the connection to stabilise. Levi looked at him and shrugged offhandedly. _It's just a projection, Eren. I am not really there._

Eren nodded and let his outstretched arm fall.

'I see,' he noted with a dampened smile. But his eyes remained lit up. ' Atleast... I get to see you. You look... good.'

The raven haired man squinted at Eren, looking him over from head to toe.

_Hm? Can't say the same about you. Your eyes are bloodshot and you look like you've grown..._ _thinner_.

Eren gave a rough laugh. 'Yeah, finals are around the corner. And I am slogging through the night. Plus, Oluo is working me to the bone.'

_May I remind you, brat, that you're the one who asked to be a PeaceCorp._

'Yeah, yeah, I know. So, what's the occasion?'

_Occasion?_

'I mean this projection thing must be equivalent to a candlelight dinner in your terms, Corporal. So, what's the occasion?'

_There's no occasion._

Eren broke into a grin and sat back against his desk.

'You wanted to see me, huh? Admit it. You missed me.'

_Oh no. You see, earthling, I have a four eyed colleague who is a little kooky in the head and works on research projects that are a waste of time and resources. She wanted to test out this prototype and… here I am._

Eren saw him looking around.

_So, is this... your house?_

It was then that Eren became painfully aware of what a mess his room was.

'No, not my house. I've told you a hundred times that I stay in a dorm, darn it.'

The man's glance roved through the room- scrutinizing, sifting and judging Eren's possessions. The verdict came quickly and Eren knew what it would be.

_It's... filthy._

Eren sighed.

'Hey. You didn't give me a warning. You're supposed to send me a message if you're going to drop by or do whatever the hell _this_ is called.'

Levi scratched his chin and gave a noncommittal shrug.

_You couldn't have salvaged this room even if I had given you a warning. It's a pigsty. An utter pigsty. Filthy._

Eren crossed his arms over his chest.

'Corporal.'

The senior wasn't listening. The man resumed scanning his alien surroundings, as he swerved in his spot, trying to take in all about Eren's dorm room. From the messy study table, the hibernating laptop to his wardrobe and stash of comic books. The sharp grey eyes finally came to a rest on Eren's midnight snack supplies.

_Is that… food with fungus growing on it?_

Eren realised that Levi was talking about last week's ramen cup.

'I was going to get rid of that,' the younger said meekly and dived to remove the offending object from the elder's view. Levi continued inspecting.

_And what the hell is that on your chair? Your underwear?_

'Uh… maybe.'

_Clearly, you need more discipline. You're worse than Hanji._

'Dammit, Levi. Will you look at me?'

The raven haired man turned to Eren and gave him a long, hard look.

_Hm. You have my attention. What?_

Eren looked at him coldly.

'Come on, you can't seriously have called on me to find fault-'

Their argument was short-lived since there was a knock on the door. Eren looked at the closed door, eyes going wide like a deer caught before headlights. Shit, he mumbled. Shit, shit, shit-

Connie's voice rang out.

'Jaeger! You forgot your notes in class!'

Eren turned to give Levi a distressed glance. There was a silent exchange of words as a panicking Eren asked the man to cut the communication. But Levi was the very picture of calm and looked faintly interested. He shook his head in answer.

'I'll get them later,' Eren shouted back to Connie while giving his husband an appealing look. _Please, please, don't say a word. You gotta leave, t_he college student pleaded with folded hands.

Rivaille Levi, of course, wasn't that easy to get rid of. Nor was Connie Springer.

'Oh, come on, man. Do me a favour and just get the notes so I can get back to my life. Being a Samaritan isn't really my thing.'

Eren watched as Levi raised an eyebrow. There was a flicker of understanding and the man decided to take up the challenge.

_Oh, don't be shy, HONEY. This was YOUR idea, after all._

Levi had spoken and he had spoken in a voice that the older man employed only on the training grounds. Loud enough for every cadet to hear, teasing enough to make Eren's ears turn red and Connie Springer didn't miss those words either.

'Dudddde! Who do you have hidden in there? It's a weekday. You KNOW that visitors are not allowed inside the dormitory on weekdays. Open the door, Eren! OR I'M GONNA BULLDOZE MY WAY IN!'

Eren gave the older man an incredulous look. A look that was meant to be interpreted as 'Now, look what you did.'

Levi looked on in amusement as Eren grabbed the remote in desperation and fiddled with it.

_You want me to LEAVE? Already? We haven't even STARTED yet._

Outside, Connie redoubled his efforts to break down the door.

'Dude! Open the door!' the boy yelled as he wrestled with the knob.

Eren turned between the door and Levi, scowling at both and wondered which was the greater of the two demons.

'EREN!' Connie bellowed from outside.

'Dammit, Connie. There is no one else here.'

'You're lying.'

'AM NOT.'

Technically, he _wasn't._

'Open the door or I'm gonna squeal to the resident advisor.'

At which point, Eren gave up the remote, cut the lights and went to answer the door. There was no use thwarting the curious racoon. In the darkness, Levi's presence was like a fluorescent beacon. The man smirked and scratched his chin in amusement. The older probably wanted to know how Eren was going to handle the situation. And the peacekeeper wanted to wipe that smirk right off his face.

Eren unlocked the door and opened it by a whisper. He stared at the bald boy outside.

Connie wiggled his eyebrows expectantly.

'So?' the shorter boy quipped.

'So_ what_?'

'Who's inside?' Connie demanded. 'Who are you having a secret rendezvous with?'

'No one.'

'Yeah, right. Why do you have the lights out? Don't try hiding it. I HEARD someone in there, Jaeger! And I am gonna find out who it is!'

Clearly, Connie wasn't going to give up that easily.

Alright, time for plan B.

Eren kept a serious face as he looked up and down the corridor. Deeming them to be alone, he slipped out of his room and latched the door shut behind him. The brunette waggled a finger in air, asking Connie to lean in closer.

'What is it?' the boy demanded, raising an ear towards Eren.

'Cons, I'll tell you the truth. But promise me you won't tell anyone.'

'Sure,' the shorter boy vowed, rubbing his hands at the prospect of a scandal. 'But first tell me, who the hell are you shagging?'

'I am NOT shagging anyone.'

'Uh huh, I heard someone-'

Eren pressed a finger to his lips, hushing the other.

'Okay, the thing is… I-I was trying my hand at an Ouija board.'

If Eren had hoped that this would thwart any more questions, he was wrong. Connie's face lit up like a Christmas tree and gave him further incentive to try entering Eren's room.

'An Ouija board? COOL! I _always_ wanted to try one,' Connie said, trying to slip past Eren towards the door. 'My grandma Valerie, did I ever tell you about her? The old hag was a riot, you know… but she kicked the bucket eight months ago. Tuberculosis. You think we can summon her? I don't think her ghost will mind me checking up on her.'

Eren clasped the boy's shoulders and held him back.

'Sorry, Connie. The thing is… I am already using it.'

Realisation dawned on the shorter boy.

'Wait, you managed to summon a spirit?'

'Yeah.'

'Who?'

Eren swept a hand through his hair in embarrassment. 'Uh, my... uncle.'

There was an awkward silence and a furrow of confusion on Connie's face. The boy's shoulders slumped and he pulled away from the door.

'Dude, you've got a pervert uncle, huh?'

Eren broke into a smile.

'No doubt about that.'

..-..

Upon collecting his notes and getting rid of Connie, Eren returned to the confines of his dorm room. He switched the lights on and found the grey eyed man still standing in the middle of the pod square, waiting for him. Eren stopped in his tracks, wondering what he should do now. The Earthborn wasn't sure if he ought to be relieved or furious with his insensitive prick of a husband. In a way, the choice wasn't left to him.

_Uncle, huh?_ came the insidious question from the man's lips. Levi broke into a sly smirk.

Eren rolled his eyes as he tucked away his notes into a folder.

'Haha, very funny,' he said with sarcasm. 'You still haven't told me what you're doing here, Rivaille.'

Eren watched as the older man lifted a finger and motioned for him to come closer.

'Why?' the brown haired boy asked, suspicion lacing his tone.

_Tch. Get over here._

Eren sighed and drew closer. 'What?' he demanded.

There was a silence as he watched Levi peer at him, grey eyes scanning him up and down.

_Strip, _came the single worded command.

Eren looked at the man in all seriousness and discreetly, groped for the remote control on his bed.

'So, you did miss me,' Eren said huskily, leaning close enough to trouble the raven haired Corporal but not close enough to disturb the projection. He saw Levi give a small nod, grey eyes looking dazed and interested. 'You missed me and wanted to see me _that_ bad, huh? You should have said so… from the very beginning, _sir. _This wasn't about testing the prototype, was it?'

Levi's eyes were half-closed and the Corporal was hanging on to every word of his.

_Maybe not, _he admitted.

'I see. So, uh … Corporal?' Eren asked, hovering close enough that their noses could have touched.

_Hm?_

'You are in the bedroom, right now?'

_Yes. How did you know?_

'Because I can see Krobe pissing on your bed.'

There was a pause.

… _what? _

The distraction was all that the young peacekeeper needed... to bring the remote forward and he pressed the red button. The projection zapped close and Eren was alone in his dorm room again. With a gratuitous smirk and a heavy heart, he turned to the watch lying on the floor. The voice on Gale was chortling in indignation. Amused, Eren picked it up and tapped the dial, testing the connection.

'You there, Levi?'

There was a grunt on the other end.

Eren smiled.

'I can't believe you fell for that. Man, I totally win this round.'

_Brat_, came the verdict from the comm.

..-..

_The story about Pyramus and Thisbe? I didn't finish it? You sure?_

_Oh, right. You snubbed me last time, didn't you? _

_You want to know what happened to them?_

_Well, Pyramus and Thisbe… they died._

_No, I am not joking._

_How?_

_It was the lion's fault. _

_... entirely the lion's fault._

* * *

_..-.._

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Notes~

Pyramus and Thisbe are a couple of young Babylonians in love. Unfortunately, their families totally hate each other. The star-crossed lovers whisper sweet nothings through a crack in the wall that separates their houses, until they eventually can't take it anymore and decide to elope. But when Thisbe shows up under the mulberry tree where they're supposed to meet, a bloody-jawed lioness (a lion, in some accounts) is hanging out there. Thisbe screams and runs, leaving her shawl behind. Pyramus arrives a little while later and finds the bloody lioness ripping apart the shawl. Assuming Thisbe has been devoured, he stabs himself with his sword. Later, Thisbe returns, figures out the horrible thing that's happened, and stabs herself with Pyramus's sword, too. To this day, the formerly white berries of the mulberry tree are stained red with the blood of these tragic lovers.

Kind of a ridiculous story.


End file.
